It Takes A Village
by MommieJen
Summary: Usually Murdock is all that the team needs to fly, but not this time.
1. Chapter 1

_I have no real medical knowledge and no flying knowledge. Just FYI. And as usual, I own no rights to The A-Team._

* * *

Whack!

When the bullets started flying, there was no time to slip B.A. any night-night juice, so a whack to the back of the head had done the trick. For a few seconds, the scene could be described as nothing short of chaos.

"Drag him in!"

"Amy, get in! Now!"

"Hannibal!"

"Get him in, Face!"

Murdock pushed the image of his Colonel taking a bullet out of his mind as he fired up the chopper while bullets whizzed by and hit the skids. An explosion of hot pain tore through Murdock's thigh as the bird lifted high into the air. He ignored it; he'd deal with it later when he could.

Murdock glanced into the back as he flew. B.A. was mercifully passed out and strapped in, Amy beside him looking wide-eyed and panicked. Face was kneeling beside Hannibal on the floor of the helicopter, med kit open.

Murdock checked his leg. He was leaking. Leaking lots, he noticed. Enough where he wondered if something major got nicked. Pretty soon his khakis were going to match his new red tshirt. He hadn't had to fly while injured that badlyy since Vietnam.

"Faceman! I need you in the cockpit!" Murdock's voice was sharp.

Face glanced up at the pilot, the look on his face almost a glare. "Can't it wait, kinda busy back here!" His hands held gauze over the bullet wound in Hannibal's shoulder.

"Not a request." Murdock's voice had an urgent tone to it that caught Face's attention.

"Fine, give me a second. Amy, come here," Face looked at her and saw she was terrified. She had rarely seen any of them wounded before, let alone Hannibal. "You can do this. Amy, we need you," Face's voice was firm and reassuring at the same time as he looked right into her face. "I'll show you what to do." He proceeded to show Amy how to hold pressure over the wound for now. "Got it?"

Amy didn't say anything, just nodded. "Hey, Hannibal, guess I'm your new nurse," she tried to joke with the injured Colonel to mask her fear. She held gauze over the bullet wound with one hand and used her sleeve to wipe the sweat off the Colonel's face.

Hannibal gave her his best grin to reassure her. "Better looking than my last one. I'll be fine, kid." He lay back and closed his eyes, still chewing on the end of an unlit cigar.

Face stuck his head in the cockpit, mildly annoyed that Murdock had taken him away from Hannibal. "What's so important, Murdock?" He did notice that the Captain looked more stressed than usual.

Murdock's only response was to remove his bloody hand from his thigh and show Face. Face's jaw dropped and he cursed under his breath. His brain started spinning - he had a wounded pilot bleeding out, an unconscious passenger, and another wounded man. Not just any man, but the unflappable Hannibal. That left Amy and himself to treat the wounded and keep the bird up. "Murdock?"

Murdock finally spoke, so quietly that Face could barely hear him. "Best I figure, we're about 30 flying minutes from Doc Sullivan's. I'll get us there, but I'll need help. You've flown up here with me more than anybody, congratulations, you just got promoted to co-pilot. What about Hannibal?"

Face glanced back at Hannibal and Amy. She was leaning over him, talking quietly. Hannibal seemed to be doing ok, and if they could truly be at Maggie's in half an hour, removing the bullet could wait until then. Facing Murdock again, he patted him on the shoulder. "Hang in there, buddy. I'll be right back."

Turning again to face the back of the helicopter, Face started giving instructions to Amy. "Cut his shirt away from the bullet. Remove any obvious pieces of material or debris from the hole. If you can see the bullet, if you can feel it without probing in too far, use this," he paused and took a knife out of his pocket and handed it to her, "and remove it. Otherwise leave it alone. Dump the peroxide on it, it will have to do for now. Cover it back up with clean gauze and keep both hands on it."

Amy stuttered in her panic. "Face, I can't...can't. I don't know..."

Face cut her off, grabbing her hand. "Amy. You have to do this. I can't dig out a bullet right now. Trust me, there is no other option." It was something Face had done so many times in his life that it was second nature to him, something he could do as easily as disassembling a weapon blindfolded. "We need you right now. You are in charge of Hannibal for right now." Face's voice was firm and commanding, not showing any trace of the bile of fear rising in the back of his throat. He knew they were in a dangerous situation; ithin a few seconds he had been thrust into the role of CO and needed to get a plan in action and get them to Maggie's.

He turned back to Murdock as the helicopter took a sudden dip, then straightened out again. "Can you fly while I try to look?" When Murdock nodded, beads of sweat trickling down his neck, Face wedged himself between the pilot's chair and controls with a pair of scissors. He gingerly cut a large square of khaki material away from where Murdock took the hit. As he removed the material, blood poured from the wound. "Steady now, Murdock," Face's voice was quiet and calming as he noticed Murdock's concentration falter and his eyes struggle to stay open. He glanced around and saw nothing to use to try to staunch the bleeding, so he awkwardly reached both hands through the small space and applied as much pressure as he could on Murdock's thigh.

"Faceman...I'm startin to see shadows. Not feeling too hot. You might have to bring this girl down," Murdock's voice was strained with pain and fatigue.

Face considered their options. He could have Murdock land the helicopter now, where they were, and try to radio the Sheriff of Bad Rock for help, or he could try to push an injured man more than what he should, trusting the lives of everyone on board to an injured pilot. "How much farther, Murdock?"

Murdock took a second to respond. He was pale and sweat was dripping off him. There were bloody handprints on the controls. "10 minutes. I hope, cause I ain't got any more than that in me, Face."

"Can you do it?" Face's question was honest, and he knew Murdock wouldn't lie.

Murdock didn't lie, he just didn't answer, it took all he had to fly straight. Face knew that was the answer.

With his arms still reaching on Murdock's leg, Face turned his head back to Amy. "There's smelling salts in the med kit. Use them on B.A. We need all hands on deck." It was a big risk waking B.A. up in the middle of any flight, especially a rather perilous one like this, but Face needed any help he could get. He hoped B.A. would be able to get a grip and be of some help to them.

Amy nodded mutely, then took her hands off Hannibal's shoulder. She cracked open the vial and waved it under B.A.'s nose, staying as far away from him as she could. She flinched as B.A.'s eyes fluttered open.

"Hey! We on a chopper! Fool's going to crash us! You..."

Amy cut him off curtly. "Save it, B.A. So you don't like to fly. For right now, you're just going to have to deal with it. We've got a situation here and you need to suck it up and deal with it."

For the first time, B.A. looked around. Any fear he had was pushed aside when he saw that both Hannibal and Murdock were shot. "Hannibal!" He unstrapped himself and dropped to his knees beside the Colonel. "I got him, Amy." The Colonel was hurt, that took priority even over his fear of Murdock's flying.

Amy nodded her understanding and slipped up front. She knew Murdock was hurt, but she didn't know how badly until she saw Face's hands pressed down on the pilot's leg and the expressions of furrowed brows, concentration, and pain on Murdock's face. She looked at Face, at his blood covered hands, and struggled to keep both the emotions and the nausea at bay.

Finally the small town of Bad Rock appeared in front of them. "Going to make it, Captain?" Face asked his friend. He had every confidence in Murdock's abilities, but he also knew things looked rough.

Amy took the copilot's chair. "What do I do?"

Murdock glanced at Face, his face deathly pale. "It's either you or her helping me to fly this thing. You've done it before."

"Here, Amy, trade me." Face motioned for her to take his place and he gingerly eased his way out of his position as Amy eased her way in. He put his already blood stained hands over Amy's and positioned them on Murdock's thigh. "Right here. Keep lots of pressure on it. Don't let up."

As Amy took over Face's spot, Murdock let out a gasp. "S ok, chica. Just keep your hands nice and firm," he said painfully. Usually that would have led to a joke, but no one was joking in their current situation.

"Murdock, hang on. It's not much farther," Amy tried her best to reassure him.

Face took the copilot's seat. "Ok, buddy. Get her lined up nice and straight and we'll bring her home together. I'll take the pedals, you take the sticks." He sounded much more confident than he was.

Murdock gripped the stick as tightly as he could. "I'll give it my best, Face."

"I know you will, buddy."


	2. Chapter 2

"Faceman," Murdock's words were barely audible. His condition had deteriorated in the last few minutes. "We're going to...rough landing. Easy on the pedals, but she'll want to turn." Murdock had to pause for a minute before he could continue. "Gotta keep straight, a little at a time. I got the sticks, I think, but I can't handle the pedals. You're going to have to shut it down."

Face nodded his head in agreement and put a hand on Murdock's arm. "We got this."

Almost as soon as Face said the words, Murdock's eyes slipped closed into unconsciousness as his body finally overpowered his willpower. "Murdock! Murdock!" Amy was in an all out panic at the sight of him slumped over. She looked at Face, hopeful she would get the answer she needed. "You know how to land this, right?"

Face plastered on his best charming smile. "Done it before, sweetheart." He didn't mention that he had landed a helicopter exactly twice, both times with Murdock's verbal and physical help. This was a different ballgame entirely, but it was up to him.

"B.A.!" Face called to him. "Get Murdock out of the seat and on the floor. We're going to have to triage, Murdock's worse, so you make sure he doesn't bleed out. And I order you to NOT freak out on me here. Amy, when he's clear, you take his seat. You're going to have to help me land this." Face barked out the orders as he struggled to fly.

Within seconds, B.A. had Murdock on the floor, tourniquet applied, and his strong hands held tight over the wound. Amy fought back against the queasy feeling in the pit of her stomach as Murdock's blood on the seat started to seep into her jeans. She looked at Face as she struggled to stay in control. "Now what do we do?"

"See those pedals on the floor? Left goes left, right goes right. You'll need to make small adjustments as needed to keep us straight. Nice and easy, gentle adjustments. We are going to land this helicopter together," Face did his best to reassure her. Glancing back behind him quickly, he simply said, "Hang on, this is going to be rough."

* * *

Maggie raised her head from the newspaper as she heard a helicopter in the distance. Listening closely, she realized it was coming closer. Hearing aircraft flying overheard was such a rare occurrence that when a helicopter approached, it most certainly meant she was about to be put to work. She stood on her porch and watched the wobbly chopper approach; she didn't know much about flying, but anyone watching this one knew that it was in trouble. It struggled to stay upright and level and after it finally made contact with the ground in something that wasn't quite a crash but not quite a decent landing either, she ducked low and took off running.

The sight that greeted her was a shock. Murdock was unconscious, Hannibal barely with it. Face barked out orders as he started flipping every switch he had seen Murdock hit to power down. "Murdock and Hannibal both hit, Murdock's pretty bad, I can take care of Hannibal."

Face helped Maggie move Murdock out of the helicopter, but as they were preparing to carry him into her house, B.A. jumped out from the back. "I'll carry my fool brother in. Least I can do after he managed to not crash us." B.A.'s voice was gruff, but he handled the pilot ever so gently as scooped him up and headed in.

Maggie stared at B.A., astonished. "He was awake?"

"Had to be, we needed every bit of help we could get," Face tersely replied as he helped Hannibal out of the chopper and into the house.

Within a few minutes, both of Maggie's exam tables were full. Face had washed the blood off his hands and focused on removing the bullet from his Colonel while Maggie concentrated on Murdock. Few words were exchanged as Face gave Hannibal a morphine shot, then proceeded to extract the bullet from his shoulder. It was something he had learned how to do long ago, but the fact that it was Hannibal took his breath away and caused him to second guess every move. After it was cleaned and stitched properly, Hannibal finally spoke.

"Murdock?"

"He's right over there, Maggie's got him," Face held a hand firmly on Hannibal's arm. "And you're staying right here for now." Hannibal just glared at him until Face finally offered another cigar as a peace offering.

B.A., who had been watching quietly from along the wall, suddenly spoke. "Where's Amy?"

"Thought she was with you, B.A." Face was too busy trying to keep Hannibal down that he hadn't noticed her absence.

"I'll go find her," B.A. disappeared out the door and started the search. She wasn't in the house or on the porch, so he headed out to the helicopter. He found her sitting in the pilot's seat staring at the blood stained controls, tears running down her cheeks silently.

Amy turned to him. "Hannibal, Murdock...they'll be ok, right? They have to be ok, don't they?"

B.A. smiled at her and held out his hand to help her out. "Course they will, little sister. Doc dug that 50 caliber out of me, remember? Come on, you need to wash up."

Amy looked down at her hands, stained first with Hannibal's blood, then Murdock's. She shook her head at the sight. "Guess I do, B.A." As they started walking to the house, she suddenly stopped him. "So are you still afraid to fly?"

B.A. stared at her. "Now more than ever! Crazy Fool trying to get us killed flying when he's half shot up like that! And Faceman flying us! But when I see Hannibal or Murdock bad hurt like that, I can forget for a few minutes."

That got a chuckle out of Amy as she wiped the tears off her face with her sleeve. "Come on, mudsucker. Let's go check on them."

They found Face and Hannibal sitting on the couch, Hannibal doing his best to not be affected by the morphine. Amy washed up and rejoined the team in the living room. Silence and worry made the minutes drag by until finally Maggie opened the door, looking tired and strained. Face was first to speak.

"How is he?" He was nearly breathless from worry and exhaustion.

Maggie's voice was worn. "He's sleeping. The more we can keep him still, the better, so I helped him out with a sedative. Dug out the bullet, cleaned out the wound, tied off an artery, stitched him shut. He's on an IV antibiotic and lost a lot of blood. B.A., he could use some of yours." Maggie looked right at him and waited for his response.

"Let's go, maybe he won't be as crazy if he gets mine now," B.A. was already headed in.

Maggie allowed them all in to see Murdock after the transfusion. As they all gathered around the sleeping Captain, Face finally looked relieved. Amy sat holding Murdock's hand, Hannibal stood beside her, quiet for a change, while B.A. and Face stood on either side of the exam table.

Maggie stood quietly against the wall with a cup of coffee as she observed the team. After so many years, they were beyond close; they were family. Amy had even grafted in fairly well recently, she noticed. They all had a hand on their Captain as they talked quietly. It would take Murdock a while to bounce back, Hannibal would be fine, but the day could have very easily had a tragic outcome if it wasn't for the teamwork shown by a family that intrinsically knew the ins and outs of quick thinking, leadership, and working together.


End file.
